Former Missouri shelter director sentenced for embezzlement

KANSAS CITY (AP) - A former director of a domestic violence shelter in her north-central Missouri hometown has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for on-the-job embezzlement and fudging grant requests.

Fifty-one-year-old Deborah Wallace of Marshall also was ordered Wednesday to repay $115,219 to the Lighthouse Shelter and $268,468 to the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

Wallace pleaded guilty last June to charges of stealing government property and making false claims for reimbursement under a federal grant.

Prosecutors say that over a five-year period into 2013, Wallace used Lighthouse credit cards and bank account to pay personal expenses. She also admitted she submitted fraudulent monthly invoices in support of grant applications and spending.

Wallace was Lighthouse's executive director from early 1999 to April 2013.